40acts: Ready to ActSample

Act 36: Behind Bars

Childhood should be a time of freedom, but many children lose theirs to crime. According to Youth for Christ, over 125,000 children and teenagers (under the age of 18) are arrested each year and over 20,000 under 25s serve at least one prison sentence annually. Meanwhile, an estimated 7% of all children have a parent in prison during their school years. There are organisations that offer specialist support to these vulnerable young people but we can help, too.

"When I read an article about São Paulo back in 1999, I knew that God was calling me there. I run The Eagle Project, working with small groups of boys in the youth prisons conducting psycho-drama workshops. They role-play their victims, families and friends, enabling them to empathise and get to grips with the impact of their crimes. We give them individual counselling and work with them to get them ready for release. 

One of our boys, Walace, is now working towards his degree in radiology. He went from a life of crime to finding hope and restoration. Walace started selling drugs, then stealing. He was estranged from his family and went to the youth prison three times.

The boys know they wouldn’t have been able to get out of crime by themselves and so are very thankful. What’s great is that they want to give back. A few months ago Walace sent me a message. He saw a woman on the bus begging and he said he felt moved to help her. He gave her all the coins in his pocket. He said, ‘I remembered you, and how you help people. It felt so good to help someone else.’ "

After today’s verse from Isaiah, we learn that it is the captives who ‘will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations’ (v. 4). The Lord has a bigger plan for the overlooked orphan, captive, brokenhearted – those stuck in darkness – than we do. Will we join him in reaching out to those beyond hope? We have more than help to offer them. We have the Lord’s call to go back and rebuild their broken communities. They have a dignified call, too. They are sons and daughters with purpose.